Tornado / Wind Damage

Tornado damage can be catastrophic or sometimes hidden and easily missed, and therefore compromising to your property. Our expertise is in assessing such damage and negotiating a claim that will get you what is needed to fully recover.

If your property is damaged by a tornado, you may not be able to see all the damage with the naked eye. This could be a cracked foundation or a loosened roof. How will you know if your property is safe? The first step is to engage a licensed engineer to determine if any structural deficiencies like these have occurred. If the damage is identified, we can step in to help assess the full scope and prepare and manage your insurance claim.

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Our team will evaluate and document your damage in full detail, and negotiate with your insurance company for a maximum claim recovery. As your trusted advocates, we make sure you obtain what you need to rebuild your property and business.

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As most homeowners can attest to, the family home is the single most valuable possession and typically the largest investment. When that home is damaged by a tornado, wind or hail damage, recovering the maximum amount of money needed to repair or replace the damaged property or business will certainly be the biggest challenge one could ever undertake.  Understanding the insurance claim process or working with someone who does can make the difference of recovering what you should under your policy.

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The Claim Warrior staff of professional tornado loss consultants can help alleviate the arduous insurance claim process and will see to it that  your home or business is restored back to its proper pre-loss condition. Because we understand how insurance companies evaluate claims, we will make certain that your claim estimates are backed by fact, you recover what is rightfully due under your policy, and minimize the haggling and stress your insurance company can impose on you when filing a tornado / wind damage insurance claim.

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Here are a few key tips to make sure your tornado damage does not turn into an insurance claim nightmare:

1. Make sure your insurance company pays you first, not a roofing company or contractor. Never sign over (“assign”) your insurance payment to a 3rd party contractor.

2. Ask for an “advance payment” from your insurance company so you can at least start to make temporary repairs.

3. Understand the "damage repair estimate" that the insurance company adjuster provides you. If they have not provided one, ask for it right away!

4. When reviewing your insurance company’s repair estimate, look for the "10 & 10" on the totals page of the estimate. This refers to the standard 10% extra for overhead and 10% extra for contractor’s profit that is written into many policies and sometimes paid as part of the claim.  This is a hotly debated issue in the claims community. If a roof claim is the only damage incurred, then an insurer may take the position you are not going to use a general contractor. Thus, they will not pay for any profit and overhead. However, some companies will pay you the 10% overhead if you are supervising the roofer, under the theory that you will have cost and time in this project. Their position on the 10% profit is that you should not profit from your loss. The entire 10 and 10 is generally considered to be a carryover issue from past years, as most honest contractors we know tell us they cannot stay in business under these terms. Their real profit is built in the line-by-line estimates that carry a higher profit margin. Try to work this out with the adjuster if this comes up or call us. These issues may well be covered in court cases, which need to be taken into consideration given how the courts have looked at the policy and terms in past years.

5. Understand your insurance company’s depreciation calculations. Most insurance companies pay on an “Actual Cash Value” basis (Replacement cost minus depreciation) and will depreciate buildings 40%-80%, drastically reducing the final payment. This is open to negotiation and newer buildings should not be depreciated that much.

6. In disaster situations, the demand for building/roofing materials naturally increases. The estimated cost of repairs accounted for in your insurance company’s estimate will most likely be lower as the demand/price of building materials increases.  Make certain that you are paid the full amount on the front end so you do not have to go back to ask the adjuster for more in a supplement. The estimated wait time to have an adjuster re-inspect your home/business is over 2-3 weeks and you may not have the same adjuster as he/she will most likely go back home to the respective state they flew in from.

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Contact the Claim Warriors today to start the process of a proper and equitable recovery to your tornado or other wind storm damage claim.

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Contact a public adjuster from the Claim Warriors if you have a question or would like a free consultation about your tornado or other wind storm damage insurance claim or call (833) 633-6639.